Comparison
MetaPurify vs ExifCleaner
For a recurring desktop workflow over many files, install ExifCleaner. It is open source, it batches at a scale we do not approach, and it reads formats we cannot open. MetaPurify is for the other case: one image, on whatever device you are holding, with nothing to install.
What ExifCleaner is
ExifCleaner is a free, open-source desktop application for macOS, Windows and Linux, published under the MIT licence with source on GitHub. It is built on ExifTool and works by drag and drop. Its site states it makes no network access and collects no telemetry, and invites you to verify that yourself.
At a glance
| Dimension | MetaPurify | ExifCleaner |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A web page | A desktop application you install |
| Platforms | Any modern browser, phones included | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Source available | No | Yes — MIT licence, on GitHub |
| Files per run | Up to 20 in the EXIF editor; one elsewhere | Stated as tens, hundreds or thousands |
| Formats | JPEG, PNG, WebP | JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, MP4, MOV, M4A, PDF and more |
| Inspect before cleaning | Yes, grouped by what it reveals | Yes, with before-and-after metadata diffs |
| Underlying engine | Our own container parser | ExifTool |
Where ExifCleaner is better
- It is open source under the MIT licence. You can read exactly what it does and build it yourself — a stronger form of trust than any privacy claim we can write on a page.
- Batch processing at real scale. Thousands of files in one drag, against a 20-file ceiling in our EXIF editor and one file at a time everywhere else.
- Format coverage. TIFF, GIF, video and PDF are all outside what MetaPurify will open, and ExifTool underneath it reads far more than our parser does.
- It is a local application, so nothing depends on a website continuing to exist.
Where MetaPurify is better
- Nothing to install, and no admin rights needed — useful on a managed work machine, or when you do not want a metadata utility in your applications folder.
- It works on a phone. ExifCleaner is desktop only, and the photo you want to clean before sending is usually already on your phone.
- It explains rather than just strips: findings are grouped into location, camera, software, descriptive and AI-related information in plain language before you decide what to remove.
- Removal is verified against the output bytes, including a payload hash comparison confirming the picture itself was not re-encoded.
Which to choose
If you clean images regularly on a computer you control, ExifCleaner is the better tool and we would rather you used it than used ours badly. MetaPurify is for the one-off on an unfamiliar or mobile device, and for the case where you want to understand what is in the file before deciding what to remove.
Common questions
Do I have to install anything?
ExifCleaner is a desktop application for macOS, Windows and Linux, so it needs installing and, on a managed machine, permission to do so. MetaPurify is a web page, which is mostly useful when the photo is already on your phone.
Can MetaPurify clean thousands of files at once?
No, and it is not close. ExifCleaner batches into the thousands; MetaPurify takes up to 20 files in the EXIF editor and one at a time elsewhere. A recurring bulk workflow belongs in ExifCleaner.
Which formats does ExifCleaner read that MetaPurify cannot?
TIFF, GIF, MP4, MOV and PDF among others, because it is built on ExifTool. Metadata parsing covers JPEG, PNG and WebP; the converter can read more formats (HEIC, TIFF, AVIF, GIF…) but does not inspect their metadata.
Is MetaPurify open source?
It is not, and ExifCleaner's MIT licence is a stronger guarantee than any sentence we can write here. What you can do instead is open your browser's network panel while MetaPurify runs and watch that no request carries your image.
Our own limits are listed in full on the supported formats page, and the verification step referenced above is explained in how to verify metadata was actually removed.